Automatic coupling for railway cars



March 11 1924. 1,486,737 T. J. FUTRELL AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARS Origihal Filed July 25. 1920 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Thonza 6 JFu ire/22 INVENTOR wrrNEssP-z March 11 1924. 1,486,737

T. J. FUTRELL AUTQMA'IIC COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARS Original Filed July 23 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a h m /9 2 3' a, s 1 T l6 1 v H (6 I I I El E1 l3 16 M 9 ,6

/9 8. ,f Thmnas c/Ti'ua zz WITNESSK INVENTOR v a J fi-M j ATTORNEY AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application filed July 23, 1920, Serial No. 398,331. Renewed July 31, 1923.

3 one of the brackets therefor.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. FUTRELL, a citizen of the United States, esiding at Streator, in the county of La Salle and State 5 of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my resent invention is the provision of eflicient and durable suspension and cushioning means for use in automatic couplings with a View to promoting the reliable operation thereof.

Another object is the provision of suspension and cushioning means calculated to readily lend itself to the retraction of a coupling and the retention of the coupling in retracted position, when occasion dei'nands.

To the attainment of the foregoing, the invention consists in the improvement as hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, hereby made a part hereof z- 1 Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showiii-g a coupling embodying my invention, and also showing a portion of a complementary coupling associated with the first-named coupling. v

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken in a plane parallel to the swinging hanger of my improvement.

Figure 3 is a detail vertical section show ing' tne association of the said hanger with section taken at right showing the arrangehanger bracket.

Figure 4 is a detail angles to Figure 3 and ment of one arm of the swinging relatively to the side portions of its Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings. I

in furtherance of'my present invention I 1'1; on the frame 1 of a car body two pendent spaced brackets 2. The said brackets 2 are identical in construction and therefore a detailed description of the one shown in F igures 1, 3 and 1 will suflice to impart a definite understanding of both. lhe bracket referred to includes side walls 3 in which are openings 4, and a front wall 5 integral with the side walls 3 and provided with a bore 6. Thesaid front wall 5 is also pr vided as shown with a web 7 on which are flanges 8 to contribute to the strength of the fixture of the bracket 2 to the frame 1.

Pivotally connected at 9 in the upper portions of the bracket 2 are arms 10 of the swinging hanger 11 which constitutes an important element of my improvement. As appears in Figure 2 the said swinging hanger 11 is of general U-configuration, and its arms 10 are connectedthrough the medium of an intermediate cross bar 12. Carried by the said cross bar 12 and also by the lower cross bar 13 of the hanger 11 are alined bearings 14.

Positioned in the swinging hanger 11 and movable therewith is a yoke 15 on which are upper and lower trunnions 16, journaled in the said bearings 14.

Mounted to rock in the yoke 15 and in a longitudinal vertical 18, the sleeve 18 being preferably larger than the Pivotally connected at 19 to each arm 10 of the swinging hanger 11 is a rod 20 that extends outwardly through the bore 6 in the adjacent bracket 2 and is provided at 21 with an abutment adapted to bring up against the inner side of the front wall 5 of the bracket as clearly shown in Figure 3. On the outer portion of each of the two rods 20 is an abutment 22, and surrounding each rod 20 and interposed between its abutment 22 and the outer side of the adjacent bracket 2 is a cushioning spring'28. The relative arrangement of the two springs 23 is clearly shown in Figure 2.

It will be apparent from comparison of Figures 1 and 3 that the outward or forward swinging movement of the hanger 11 is limited by the front walls 5 of the brackets 2, and that the hanger is free to swing inwardly beyond the side walls of the brackets 2 after the manner indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1. In order to retain the hanger 11 in its inner idle posihe position shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, I provide the hook 24c pivotally connected at 25 to the frame 1 and adapted to be engaged with and disengaged from an apertured portion 26 in one of the swinging hanger arms. I would have it understood here that precedent to the said connection of the hanger 11 to the hook 2a the pintles 19 are removed so as to release the hanger arms from the rods 20.

At 27 in Figure 1, I illustrate what it is proper to designate, a cushioning hanger. The said hanger comprises a cylinder 28 loosely connected at 29 with. the car frame and having an apertured lower cap 30 that constitutesan abutment, a piston 31 movable in the cylinder 28, a rod 32 on the piston, freely movable in the cap or abutment 30, and a spring 33 housed in the cylinder 28 and interposed between the abutment 30 and the piston 31 so as to yieldingly resist downward movement of the latter. At its lower end the piston rod 32 is connected as indicated by 34 to a coupling head 35; and it will be noticed by reference to Figure 1 that I show in proper relation to the coupling head 35 a complementary coupling head 36i. e., a coupling head that is carried by an adjoining car (not shown). As shown in Figure 1 the coupling head 35 is provided with a rectilinearly movable latch bar 37, and pivotally connected to the outer portion of the said latch bar 37 is one arm of a lever 38, fulcrumed at 39 on the coupling head35. The said lever 38 has its other and inner arm connected to a link 40, and the said link 40 is pivotally connected at 41 to a rod 42 as is also a link 43 that is pivotally connected at 4:4: to the coupling head 35. The rod 42 is provided at &5 with an abutment. The said rod 432 is also carried loosely through the sleeve 17 in the yoke 15. Mounted on the rod 4:2 and interposed between the said abutment 425 and the outer end of the sleeve 17 is a spring 46 which has for its function to yieldingly retain the latch bar 37 in and return the same to its working position.

The links 40 and 43 constitute a toggle lever, and hence it will be understood that when the rod 42 is moved toward the right in Figure 1 by the engagement of the sleeve 17 with the units L2, be latch bar 37 will be retracted for the uncoupling of the coupling heads. Manifestly when the hanger 11 is secured by the hook 24: in the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, the latch bar 37 will be retained in retracted position.

Joined to and movable with the coupling head 35 is a rod 47 that is arranged to work freely through the sleeve 18 in the yoke 15; and it will be readily noted by reference to Figure 1 that a coil spring 48 on the said rod 47 is interposed between the outer end of the sleeve 18 and an abutment 4:9 afforded by the inner portion of the coupling head 35.

It will be apparent from Figure 1 that 35 is equipped with the following conventional appurtenances, viz; a steam pipe 50, a train cable tube 51, and a signal tube 52. These, however, are not of the essence of my invention and need not therefore be further mentioned.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that through the medium of my improvement which I have illustrated and described as the best practical embodiment of which I am cognizant, the coupling is suspended and cushioned in a manner that is entirely adequate for practical purposes, and also in such manner that all of the parts are well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which car appurtenances are ordinarily subjected. In this connection it will be appreciated that all of the parts of my improvement are adapted to freely lend themselves to the movements of the car body so as not to be subjected to strain.

It will also be apparent that my novel mode of suspending and cushioning the coupling head is of such character as to readily lend itself to the retention of the coupling head and its appurtenances in a retracted position as when it is couple train pipes by hand or perform any other function with which the coupling head in its normal working position would interfere.

An important characteristic of my invention resides in the fact that under normal working conditions, the hanger 11 will bear solidly against the outer walls 5 of the brackets 2 and in that way will sustain practically all of the pulling strain to which the coupling is subjected.

Having described my claim and desire to secure is 1. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets on said frame, each of said brackets having side walls and an outer wall and being open at its inner side and being provided in its outer wall with a bore, a swinging hanger of U-form having arms each pivotally connected to a bracket and movable between the side walls of the bracket, and also having an intermediate cross bar, a yoke mounted to rock transversely in the hanger between the lower end and the intermediate cross bar thereof, rods pivoted to the arms of the hanger and extending outwardly through the bores in the outer walls of the brackets and provided with abutments, cushioning springs about said rods and interposed between the abutments thereof and the brackets, a coupling head, rocking sleeves mounted in said yoke, a rod extending from the coupling head and movable freely in one of said sleeves, a spring coiled about said rod and interposed between one of the sleeves the coupling head invention, what I by Letters Patent,

desired to engaged by said sleeve,

movable freely and an abutment outwardly beyond the sleeve, a rod movable freely in the other sleeve and having an inner abutment to be a spring coiledabout said rod and interposed between said sleeve and an abutment outwardly beyond the sleeve, links pivotally connected to said last mentioned rod, one of said links also pivotally connected to the coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the coupling head and pivotally connected to the other link, a latch bar complementary to the coupling head and pivotally connected to said lever, and movable means to suspend the coupling head from the frame of the car body.

2. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets .on said frame, each of said brackets having side walls and an outer wall and being open at its inner side and being provided in its outer wall with a bore, a swinging hanger of U-form having arms each pivotally connected to a bracket and movable between the side walls of the racket, and also having an intermediate cross bar, a yoke mounted to rock transversely in the hanger between the lower end and the intermediate cross bar thereof,'rods pivoted to the arms of the hanger and extending outwardly through the bores in the outer Walls of thebrackets and provided with abutments, cushioning springs about said rods and interposed between the abutments thereof and the brackets, a coupling head, rocking sleeves mounted in said yoke, a rod extending from the coupling head and in one of said sleeves, a spring coiled about said rod and interposed between one of the sleeves and an abutment outwardly beyond the sleeve, a rod movable freely in the other sleeve and having an inner abutment to be engaged by said sleeve, a spring coiled about said rod and interposed between said sleeve and an abutment outwardly beyond the sleeve, links pivotally connected to said last mentioned rod, one of said links also pivotally connected to the coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the coupling head and pivotally connected to the other link, a latch bar complementary to the coupling head and pivotally connected to said lever, and movable combined cushioning and suspension means interposed between the frame of the car body and the coupling head.

3. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets on said frame, each of said brackets having side walls and an outer wall and being open at its inner side and being provided in its outer wall with a bore, a swinging hanger of'Ufor'm' having arms each pivotally connected to a bracket and movable between the side walls of the bracket, and

' cross bar,

outwardly beyond the sleeve,

loosely connected with and also having an intermediate ayoke mounted to rock transversely in the hanger between the lower end jand the intermediate cross bar thereof rods pivoted to the arms of the hanger and eX- tending outwardly through the bores in the outer walls of the brackets and provided wlth abutments, cushioning sprlngs about said rods and interposed between the abut- .ments thereof and the brackets, a coupling head, a rod extending from the coupling head and movable freely in one of said sleeves, a spring coiled about said rod and interposed etween one of the sleeves and an abutment a rod movable freely in the other sleeve and having an inner abutment to be engaged by said sleeve, a spring coiled about said rod and interposed between said sleeve and an abutment outwardly beyond the sleeve, links pivotally connected to said last mentioned rod, one of said links also pivotally connected to the coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the coupling head and pivotally connected to the other link, a latch bar complementary to the coupling head and pivotally connected to said lever, and movable combined cushioning and suspension means interposed between the frame of the car body and the coupling head; the said combined suspension and cushioning means comprising a cylinder pendent from the frame and having an abutment at its lower end, a piston movable in said cylinder and having a rod connected with the coupling head, and a spring housed in the cylinder and coiled about said rod and interposed between the piston and the abutment at the lower end of the cylinder.

4. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets thereon, and a U-shaped swinging hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets.

5. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets thereon, a U-shaped swinging hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets, and a yoke mounted to swing transversely in the said hanger.

6. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets thereon, a U-shaped swinging hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets, rods connected to and extending outwardly from arms of the hanger and equipped with abutments outwardlybeyond the brackets, and springs coiled about said rods and interposed be tween said abutments and said brackets.

71111 a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced'brackets thereon, a U-shaped hanger having arms pivotally connected rocking sleeves mounted in said yoke,

with said brackets and also having an intermediate cross bar, a yokemounted to swing transversely in said hanger and between said cross bar and the lower end of the hanger, sleeves mounted to rock vertically in said yoke, rods movable rectilinearly in said sleeves, one of said rods hav ing an inner abutment to be engaged by the sleeve that receives the rod, springs on said rods and interposed between the sleeves and abutments outwardly beyond the sleeves, a coupling head carried by one of said rods, a latch bar complementary to said coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the coupling head and having one arm connected to said latch bar, a link connected to the other of the said rods and the other arm of said lever, and a link connected to said rod and the coupling head.

8. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets thereon, a U-shaped hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets and also having an intermediate cross bar, a yoke mounted to swing transversely in said hanger and between said cross bar and the lower end of the hanger, sleeves mounted to rock vertically in said yoke, rods movable rcctilinearly in said sleeves, one of said rods having an inner abutment to be engaged by the sleeve through which the rod extends, springs on said rods and interposed between the sleeves and abutments outwardly beyond the sleeves, a coupling head carried by one of said rods, a latch bar complementary to said coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the couling head and having one arm connected to said latch bar, a link connected to the other of the said rods and the other arm of said lever, and a link connected to said rod and the coupling head, and movable suspension means interposed between the frame of the car body and the coupling head.

9. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent spaced brackets thereon, a U-shaped hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets and also having an intermediate cross bar, a yoke mounted to swing transversely in said hanger and between said cross bar and the lower end of the hanger, sleeves mounted to rock vertically in said yoke, rods movable rectilinearly in said sleeves, one of said rods having an inner abutment to be engaged by the sleeve through which said rod extends, springs on said rods and interposed between the sleeves and abutments outwardly beyond the sleeves, a coupling head carried by one of said rods, a latch bar complementary to said coupling head, a lever fulcrumed on the coupling head and having one arm connected to said latch bar, a link connected to the other of the said rods and other arm of the said lever, and a link connected to said rod and the coupling head, and movable suspension means interposed between the frame of the car body and the coupling head, combined suspension and cushioning means interposed between the frame of the car body and the coupling head, and cushioning means complementary to the hanger to yieldingly resist inward movement thereof.

10. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent brackets thereon, a swinging U-shaped hanger having arms pivotally connected with said brackets, and a hook movably connected with the frame and adapted to be detachably engaged with the hanger to retain the same in retracted position.

11. In a railway car coupling construo tion, the combination of the frame of a car body, pendent brackets thereon, a swinging U-shaped hangerhaving arms pivotally connected with said brackets, and a hook movably connected with the frame and adapted to be detachably engaged with the hanger to retain the same in retracted position, and springs arranged and constructed to yieldingly hold the hanger against inner movement.

12. The combination in a railway car coupling construction, of a hanger, a coupling head, a rod extending inwardly from the coupling head, a movable latch bar complementary to the coupling head, a rod connected and movable with said latch bar, a transversely swinging yoke mounted in the hanger, longitudinal, vertically swinging sleeves mounted in the said'yoke and receiving said rods, and springs on the rods outwardly beyond the sleeves to cushion the inward movement of the rods, said springs being interposed between the sleeves and abutments outwardly beyond the sleeves.

13. In a railway car coupling construction, the combination of the frame of a car body, a longitudinally swinging hanger connected with said frame, means to cushion inward movement of said hanger, a coupling head, movable suspension means interposed between the frame and said coupling head, a rod on the coupling head and movable through the hanger, cushioning means in terposed between the coupling head and the hanger, a latch bar complementary to the coupling head, a rod connected with the latch bar and movable inwardly and outwardly through the hanger, and a spring to cushion the inward movement of said rod and through which the rod is moved outwardly.

14;. In a railway car construction, the combination of a bracket for fixture to the frame a hook for connection with the frame of the car body and adapted to be detachably cong nected with the hanger when the same is it released and swung inwardly to idle position.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

THOMAS J. FUTRELL. 

